Recently I had the privilege in obtaining more paperweights for ALT. After an initial production of twenty in 2001, the Association commissioned me to source a new supply.
[i] Below is an explanation of the significance of the paperweight, its colours, and form, and a very brief overview of how it is made. As in 2001, I was fortunate enough to be present while the paperweights emerged from the molten glass. Our unique paperweight is made by a master craftsman, Peter Holmes, who works in Hawick in the Scottish Borders. Peter is one of the few craftsmen who willingly works to commission and who can engage with learning technologists who arrive at his studio armed only with ideas, scraps of paper and an inquisitive mind!
What Does the Paperweight Signify? [ii]
The design is not random. It owes its origins to the choices made by ALT’s founders. In the Bible, St Paul writes, “
… for now we see through a glass darkly..”. This Christian text has inspired many philosophers and novelists over the years. It is generally taken to signify that we have an obscure or imperfect vision of whatever we call reality. To Paul, this imperfect state is only transient. To the learning technologist, the state suggests that we have an imperfect grasp on the way technology impacts on learning. The ALT colours, green and gold suggest, first, Learning – the green shoots of understanding; and, second, Technology – the gold of chips and circuits and contacts. Green signifies the knowledge that we as technologists aim to communicate. It also suggests the growth of understanding through engagement in the real world. These colours are represented in glass. Glass with its strong connection to silicon reminds us of the dependence we have on computers and silicon chips. The paperweight has recursive voids (bubbles) which gives force to the reflective and recursive nature of learning engagement. As we only
“… see through a glass darkly..” the imperfections in the swirling voids reminds us of our transient state. If we see ourselves in the reflections we see an imperfect image of other learners. Lastly, the faceted side to the paperweight indicates that virtual learning environments are only one limited view of a much more complex idea: how to facilitate learning (Figure 1: Through a Glass Darkly).
How Did the Design Come About?In 2001, I suggested that we might commission something to celebrate ALT that could be used as a special token given to ALT members and others when appropriate. I have an interest in art glass and knew that Selkirk Glass’ chief glass maker Peter Holmes would be able to take such a commission. The idea of an ALT paperweight took hold. Paperweights are in part function, in part decorative and represent a challenge for glass makers. Taking into account the difficulties of some designs I came up with the rough sketches in the figures below (Figure 2: Initial designs (a); Figure 3: Initial designs (b)).
The ideas above about the significance of glass, voids and colours were discussed with Peter and a prototype was produced. The commission was for twenty paperweights in the first instance with each one being hand made using the process described below
How is the Paperweight Made?Studio glass making is a slow process involving intense heat, heavy weights matched to delicate skills by the glass maker of timing and an eye for detail. The essence of the process is taking a gather from a furnace containing a crucible of molten glass on to a blowpipe or iron and manipulating it. The liquid glass is kept at about 1300°C. Strictly speaking the glass maker should be called the glass blower. The use of air pushed down a hollow iron into a gather of glass creates hollows or voids in the vessel. Internal forming of objects is made by cutting and turning glass and adding colour and additional air or chemicals to produce the desired results. While working, the glass blower works on the glass using what is called the “the glory hole” – another furnace that keeps the glass malleable. Finally, the glass maker needs an annealing oven to allow the piece of glass that is made to cool down slowly. From start to finish the process can take 24 hours. The pictures below show how the concept of the ALT paperweight is turned from the initial idea into the finished product.
A glassmaker’s workshop is a complex area with furnaces, work benches, buckets of water and a lot of hand-made tools (Figure 4: A Glassmaker’s Workshop).
A paperweight like most other art objects in glass starts with a gather of molten glass (Figure 5: Starting Work).
Materials are carefully laid out as there is no time to be wasted. Time means that the glass cools and becomes difficult to work (Figure 6: The materials for the Paperweight).
Work begins on shaping the sphere. To begin with the initial gather of glass is shaped and additional colour is added. Colour is coloured glass (Figure 7: Starting Work on the Paperweight, Figure 8: Working With a Hand Made Tool”) .
The hot glass and the pipe attracts the cold coloured glass and becomes part of the object (Figure 9: Adding Colour to the Clear Glass).
When new glass is added to the initial gather, the glory-hole gets the glass back up to working temperature (Figure 10: The Glory Hole Re-heats the Glass).
The 'secret' of voids is part known and part a trade secret. Peter Holmes uses a 'magic ingredient' to produce small voids, also he inserts air directly into the glass using a syringe. Here the large “bubble” of air is carefully placed at the centre of the paperweight (Figure 11: Adding a Void – an air bubble from a syringe).
Each paperweight takes about 30 minutes until a final product begins to emerge (Figure 12: Almost There – NB the colours are due to the high temperature – 800ºC).
The almost ready piece of glass is still at about 800ºC. The true colours begin to emerge on cooling. To cool the paperweight down takes at least 12 hours and is done an annealing oven. This process generally happens overnight (Figure 13: The Cooling Off Oven).
Next day the paperweight is carefully removed, a facet cut and the glass polished to bring out the colour and the reflections. Engraving using a template and gold paint gives the Association name and each paperweight is further hand engraved with a unique serial number. The paperweight emerges from concept through design and craftsmanship to the final object (Figure 14: The 2008 ALT Paperweight – ready for delivery).
Scottish Borders Glass has a website (needing repair) at: http://www.scottishbordersartglass.com/index.html
Peter Holmes can be contacted on 01450 371425 or Artglassscotland@aol.com
Ray McAleese
Honorary Professor, Faculty of Education
University of Aberdeen
r.mcaleese@abdn.ac.uk
[ii] The narrative in this article is the 2
nd edition of my original narrative. In August, 2001, I wrote down my thoughts on the original design. In February, 2008 I did the same again – without reference to the 2001 version. Readers might like to see
the original narrative.
